Advancing the Agenda of Gender Equality

Presolicitation for Advancing the Agenda of Gender Equality The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) anticipates issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) which will solicit services to systematically gather and analyze information on gender differences and social relations to identify and understand the different roles, divisions of labor, resources, constraints, needs, opportunities/capacities, and interests of different groups including men and women, girls and boys, and transgender persons in a given context. USAID's approach to gender analysis is built around two key questions: (1) how will the different roles and status of women and men within the community, political sphere, workplace, and household (for example, roles in decision-making and different access to and control over resources and services) affect the work to be undertaken? And, (2) how will the anticipated results of the work affect women and men differently? USAID anticipates awarding multiple contracts as a result of this solicitation. The solicitation will be set-aside for small businesses only. Small businesses may want to consider joint ventures or partnerships with other businesses. Further, small businesses may consider subcontracting with large businesses as long as the small business performs a minimum of 50% of the work. Interested small businesses should review and understand the requirements in Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 19 and clause 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting. There is no guarantee on the number of contracts to be awarded, or the amount of money each firm is entitled to beyond the minimum monetary amount to be stated in the RFP. USAID anticipates that the maximum ordering limitation of the contracts resulting from this RFP will be $74,000,000 over the five year ordering period. The ceiling dollar value applies across all contracts and cannot be exceeded in the aggregate. The solicitation will be posted on the FEDBIZOPPS web page (http://www.fbo.gov) not less than 15 days after this notice is issued. In accordance with FAR 5.102(d), availability of the solicitation is limited to this electronic medium only. Requests for other copies of the solicitation will be disregarded without notice to the requestor. No phone requests will be accepted, copies of the solicitation will not be available for pick-up, and no walk-ins will be allowed. Offerors are advised to periodically monitor the above website for updates concerning this procurement. Telephonic requests or inquiries will not be taken. Issuance of this notice does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. Government, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of comments, suggestions, or a proposal. Furthermore, the Government reserves the right to defer issuance of an RFP solicitation or not to issue an RFP, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of the Government.